Metro 2033 (Video Game)
Metro 2033 is a video game based on the novel of the same name, Metro 2033 by Russian author Dmitry Glukhovsky. The game is action-oriented and blends elements similar to those found in role-playing (RPGs), survival horror, and first-person shooter games. Ukrainian developers 4A collaborated with Dmitry Glukhovsky to create a digital rendition of his novel for the Xbox360 and PC platforms. Originally the game was to be released with the subtitle: The Last Refuge, but the subtitle was later canceled. The company THQ is responsible for publishing the game. Overview Metro 2033 takes place mostly in the metro system of Moscow. At points during the game, the player will be forced to leave the dark metro system to occasionally scavenge for supplies and ammo above ground. The game provides a wide variety of enemies - including human renegades and giant mutated rat-demons just to name a few. Weapons in this game mainly consist of makeshift and crude weapons. Ammo is limited and difficult to come across, so players are forced to be conservative with their ammo. The game has two different types of bullets - dirty rounds, which are bullets made in the metro, and military-grade rounds. Ammunition is a key game play element, and will require the player to make smart decisions as to when, where, and how they use their ammo and also when to prepare their ammo. Metro 2033 will use a very limited heads up display (HUD) element to keep to a more "realistic" and believable experience. Blood splatters indicate how much damage is being done to the player. The gas mask is an essential element to the game, as players must always use it when leaving the metro area. Unlike most games with similar scenarios, there is no indicator that tells the player how long until the gas mask's filters fail. In order to survive, the player must set a wrist watch and constantly check it to know the life of the filters in use. When a player needs to check their heading, they must check an actual paper map. This can prove to be dangerous however, as the player can still be attacked while doing this. "Dark Ones" are one of the key friendlies of the game. The player character is unique because he is "immune" to the effects of the Dark Ones, while others slowly lose their minds, Artyom remains concious, although he does enter the Dark One's "Mind Games" which are actually just their attempts to reach out to him. An example of this is when this happens while Artyom is traveling with Bourbon, you can see and hear Bourbon losing his mind, thinking hes hearing beautiful music and talking to a metal door. Also, stealth plays an important role in gameplay, due to the fact that you're normally outnumbered or by yourself. Plot The story is told in the style of a first person narrative story, by a much older Artyom (protagonist) as he records his story on an antique typewriter. The story opens with Artyom, an orphaned Russian boy born just days before the world was destroyed "in the wake of nuclear fire", is approaching the surface wielding an Kalash 2012, a fictional version of the AK-74. He is accompanied by a man named Miller who is within a faction of soldiers known as the "Rangers". As they arrive on the surface the group links up with two rangers that are equipped with a re-purposed truck with a mounted 50-cal machine gun. Within minutes the group is ambushed by a massive pack (hundreds) of "Howlers" -a kind of mutant, as well as a swarm of large mutant bats known as "Demons." During the battle the car is destroyed, both rangers are killed (the 50-cal gunner killed by a Demon, and the other is dragged away by several howlers), and Artyom is seemingly killed by a dive-bombing demon. The scene then abruptly shifts to a scene 8 days earlier in which Artyom is awoken back in his home Metro station called Exhibition. In Exhibition, Artyom and Alex meet up with Hunter, another of The Rangers, but shortly after Hunter enters Exhibition, it is attacked by a wave of mutants called Nosalis. After successfully defending the Exhibition (VDNH station) against waves of mutant creatures, Alex reveals that the true threat to humanity's continued -and arduous- survival are the Dark Ones, a mysterious sentient species that mutated from homosapiens following the nuclear holocaust. Right before Hunter leaves to battle this new foe on his own, he hands Artyom his Ranger token and orders him that, if Hunter does not return, to present the token to Miller in Polis and inform him of the turn of events. It is this quest that guides Artyom through most of his story, as Hunter indeed fails to return and is presumed dead. And thus, the journey begins. After leaving Exhibition and arriving at the Market, Artyom meets Bourbon. Bourbon offers to give Artyom his Kalash (AK 74) if he helps him get through the tunnels towards the Armory. After some dangerous trips through the Metro and on the surface, Artyom and Bourbon reach a Bandit base, where Bourbon is captured. While Artyom attempts to rescue him, Bourbon is killed by the Bandit leader, at the same time, Bourbon shoots the Bandit leader. Khan, one of the Rangers appears, and guides Artyom from this point on. Khan guides Artyom through some of the more dangerous levels of the Metro, places inhabited by Anomalies and Ghosts (Ghosts of people who have died in the past, but cannot pass over, so their silhouettes remain, and they must forever replay the final moments of their lives) Ghosts can be extremely dangerous if disturbed. If someone walks into a Ghost, they are killed, so a light must be shone on them at all times. After getting through the tunnels, Khan tasks Artyom with going to the Armory, where he will meet a friend named Andrew, who will help him go the rest of the way. Upon reaching the Armory, Artyom is captured by the Communist Soldiers, but escapes. As he is running for his life, he falls off a bridge, and is grabbed and pulled into a hut by Andrew. Andrew then smuggles Artyom out of the Armory, and into the Frontline, where a war between the Nazis and Communists is taking place. Artyom must fight his way through the Frontlines, through both Nazi and Communist soldiers; after fighting his way through, he is captured by the Nazis. The Nazis prepare to execute Artyom, but before they can, Ulman and Pavel, two more Rangers appear, and kill the Nazis. Artyom presents Hunter's token and Ulman tells Pavel to take Artyom to Polis, and to meet up with him later. Pavel and Artyom steal an armored minecar, and attempt to pass through the Nazi barricade, presenting themselves as Nazis. They are discovered, and are chased down the Metro tunnels by more armored minecars, and even a Panzer tank. After sucessfully making it through the Nazi barrier, the two jump into another smaller minecar, and proceed to the Depot. Upon reaching the Depot, the car is attacked by hordes of Nosalis. Pavel is killed, and Artyom barely makes it out alive. Artyom reaches another settlement which recruits him to help fight off waves of mutants. The fight ends in failure, and the settlement is lost, Artyom must now travel through the ruined settlement full of miniture Howler mutants called Lurkers. Reaching the end of the settlement, Artyom meets a young boy, whos uncle was killed by a Nosalis. Artyom carries the boy on his shoulders towards the surface, where he is reunited with the survivors of the settlement. From here Artyom travels to the surface yet again, and into the Nazi stronghold, The Black Station. Artyom meets with Ulman again, but cannot join him because he is on the other side of a locked gate. Ulman gives Artyom a VSV (VSK-94)), and Artyom fights his way through the Black Station. After meeting up with Ulman, the two proceed to Polis. Upon reaching Polis (A large Metro Station), Artyom presents the token to Miller, and (Presumably, as Artyom never converses during the game) educates him on the fate of Hunter and the rise of the Dark Ones. Miller brings Artyom to present his case to the Polis Council in an effort to obtain their support for a mission. However, the Council dismisses the threat because of lack of resources and men that are needed for eventual war against Nazis, and because they underestimated him for a superstitious guy from some remote station, this now leaving Artyom back at the proverbial square-one. Hope is renewed when Miller pledges his assistance to stop the Dark Ones and save the exhibition, along with the rest of the Metro. He proposes that a mostly intact launch facility, code-named 'D6' can be used to eradicate the Dark Ones with the same fire that gave birth to their kind. The location to D6 was lost with the nuclear war, so the team must set out to "The Library", a massive archive where the D6 documents are hidden. Miller, Artyom, and Danila (Another Ranger) set out to the Library. On the way, Danila is injured and must be taken back to Polis, Miller leaves Artyom on his own to find the documents leading to D6. As Artyom moves through The Library, he encounters horrendous ape-like mutants called "Librarians", these mutants are quasi-intellegent mutants that were formerly humans. They are extremely dangerous, however, will stand down if you stare them in the eye long enough. They're tricky beasts, and try to catch Artyom when his guard is down, but as long as The Player keeps Artyom's back clear, it should be safe. When Artyom leaves The Library, he is confronted by a Librarian, but before the Librarian could attack Artyom, Miller and Stepan show up in an armored car, and run it over. They take Artyom to Sparta (Above-Ground Ranger Base) where Artyom meets the remainder of The Rangers: Boris, Vladimir, and several unnamed Rangers. From here, the group of Rangers head to D6. Boris and Stepan are killed fighting their way through towards the entrance of D6. After reaching D6, the remaining Rangers start searching for the missle command center. After finding it, they realize they need to activate the reactor to gain sufficient power to launch the missles. Miller and Artyom proceed to the basement where the reactor is. Here they meet the "Biomass", a giant hideous mutant that has attached itself to the reactor. Artyom has to manually pull the fuel rods from the reactor using a crane, after doing so, Miller and Artyom leave the injured Biomass, agreeing they will return later to finish it off. This is where the beginning of the story takes place. From this point on, Artyom and Miller fight their way through the hordes of Howlers, towards the Ostankino Tower. Reaching the tower they start to climb. Miller is injured by a Demon, and leaves Artyom to ascend the rest of the way. As Artyom reaches the top of the tower, the Dark Ones attempt to stop him. The Dark Ones put Artyom in their mind-games, and Artyom must find his way out. While trapped in the mind games, Artyom runs into Hunter, who throws him a pistol, and tells him "If its hostile, you kill it!", Artyom then shoots the Dark One attempting to kill him. From this point on, one of two endings will be portrayed, depending on the moral choices you made during the game. The two endings are: Save the Dark Ones by stopping the missile strike. And the second ending is: let the Dark Ones be destroyed by the missiles If The Player accumulated enough good moral points, then he has a choice in the matter, just sit back and watch the show, or destroy the missile beacon. If The Player destroys the missile beacon, the dying Dark One at his feet (the one Artyom shot earlier) mutters "..we want peace.." and the ending cinematics are played. Reception The game recieved mostly positive reviews, some reviewers however, gave a mixed review. However, many praised it's story and setting, saying that the atmosphere was spot on ''and that the levels of the game was well designed. Many were also satisfied with the Russian dub in the game which gave it a more realistic touch, due to the circumstances and the location the game takes place in. Engine A year before the release of '''S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadows of Chernobyl', members of GSC Game World, left the company in order to create the company 4A Games, most notably Oles' Shiskovtsov and Aleksandr Maksimchuk. The game uses the multi-platform 4A Engine. The 4A Engine features nVidia PhysX support, enhanced AI, DirectX 11 and a console SDK for Xbox 360. External Links *Metro 2033 Official website Category:Gameplay Category:Metro Universe